Jackson Leroy Adair (February 23, 1887 – January 19, 1956) was a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

and a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

Education and career

Adair was born in Clayton,

, attending public high school, and Illinois College in Jacksonville, Illinois. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1911 with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

. He was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in Muskogee,

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. He moved to Quincy, Illinois, in 1913 and continued the practice of law. He also engaged in agricultural pursuits and in the manufacture of medicine for livestock. He served as city attorney of Quincy from 1914 to 1916. He served as prosecuting attorney of Adams County, Illinois from 1916 to 1920 and from 1924 to 1928. He was in private practice in Adams County from 1920 to 1924. He served as member of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

from 1928 to 1932, from the 36th District.

Congressional service

Adair was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the 73rd and 74th United States Congresses, serving from March 4, 1933, to January 3, 1937. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1936.

Federal judicial service

Adair was nominated by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

on March 24, 1937, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois vacated by Judge

James Earl Major James Earl Major (January 5, 1887 – January 4, 1972) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician. He served as a United States representative from Illinois, a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh ...

. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on April 20, 1937, and received his commission on April 27, 1937. His service terminated on January 19, 1956, due to his death in Quincy. He was interred in South Side Cemetery in Clayton.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adair, Jackson Leroy 1887 births 1956 deaths Democratic Party Illinois state senators Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois United States district court judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt 20th-century American judges University of Michigan Law School alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois